Tam leaned against a tower of crates that were already stacked and waiting to be loaded on the ship he and Eli were supposed to board. It had been a gray, drizzly day, and it was already late, but the captain insisted they could still sail by the evening and he’d rather do so sooner than later. So even though it was growing dark, they were still to leave shortly.

It was during Tam’s wait to set sail that Fin made his way over to his son, hands in his pockets, and then he, too, slumped against the crates. Kraken was at the duke’s side. Fin’s fluffy familiar that had grown a white semi circle of fur around his face, making him look like a wisened old beastie, he even had some white fluff sprouting up throughout the rest of his fur making patches of his magnificent coat look ashy.

The emperor was getting on in years, but, in fairness, he was twenty-nine, which was significantly longer than most cats got to live, and his prolonged life was most likely due to Fin’s own curse of slow aging and healing.

“I sent a note to Jiho letting him know you’ll be in Zinfera. I know you can’t visit him while gathering information, but he’s there if you need help, and he has sent you guides to meet you when you arrive.”

“Thank you,” Tam returned with a slow nod.

“I’m hoping this goes without saying, but… if you do find the dragon that people are talking about? Please don’t try to take it on by yourself.”

Tam bit his tongue. “I get it.”

Fin looked at his son with a sad half smile. “Tam, it isn’t that I don’t think you’re a capable person. You trained diligently with a sword, daggers, and even with that Zinferan combat teacher we hired years ago. I know you can take care of yourself. I’m just saying, please spare your old da more stress. We’re going to sort things out with the coven, and you’re going to be duke, and everything will be alright. You don’t have anything you need to prove.”

“I do for myself.” Tam locked eyes with his father, taking Fin aback by the intense emotion that sat heavy in his son’s gaze. “I need to step out of my comfort zone and away from everything I’ve known. I feel like a spoiled brat whose never really made his own mark on anything,” he scoffed derisively at himself before turning away.

Fin smiled as he looked forward. “I get it.”

Tam raised an eyebrow and glanced back at his father.

“I felt exactly the same way before I took the job at the castle in Austice. All I was doing was living in a cottage your grandmother paid for, cooking for her or her patients… None of it was a life I built. And despite having been told my whole life that my magic wouldn’t ever amount to much, something in me just said I could do so much more.”

“Did you think you’d be doing this much more?”

“We both know the answer to that. I can’t wait to retire,” Fin chuckled. “But… I have accomplished a lot that I am proud of, and while it was your mother who pushed me into this lofty position of duke, it would never have happened if I hadn’t taken a chance on uprooting my life and starting a new adventure. I have no regrets about moving away. If I hadn’t? Well… I’d have missed everything.”

Tam listened to his father, while not exactly surprised by what was said, he did recognize some similarities… Though everything he had heard about his da in the past indicated the house witch was far more confident in not only himself but his magic when he had moved to the castle all those years ago, unlike Tam.

Kraken bonked his head against Tam’s leg, prompting him to pick up the fluffy familiar and scratch his cheek.

“Is Kraken going to retire when you do?”

The familiar let out a short chirp in between purrs.

Fin grinned. “He says an emperor rules for life. So I don’t believe he will.”

As he continued to scratch Kraken’s salt and pepper fluff, Tam’s mind turned to his tasks in Zinfera…

Find a dragon. Figure out the state of the kingdom with the emperor on death’s doorstep, which concubines were involved in abducting people, slave trading, and countless other possibilities… Odds were high he may have to intervene here and there… Though he wasn’t quite sure how yet.

“Did you ever say hello to Alina and Brendan?” Fin asked softly.

Tam smiled without humor and with a great amount of exasperation. “No, and it’s because His Majesty isn’t a fan of mine and I’m just avoiding an awkward situation. I’m not avoiding Alina because of any kind of romantic feelings.”

Fin pursed his mouth.

No one ever fully believed Tam no matter how much he protested the question.

If it were in any way true though, he would be a lot more bothered about it being a well circulated rumor.

Kraken let out another chirp, making Fin look down at his familiar who cracked open his green eyes.

“Kraken says you never were that interested in Alina… So I guess you really do mean it.”

Tam felt anger stir in his chest, and sensing this, Kraken squirmed to be let down.

“Now the word of a cat means more than whatever I have to say?” Tam rounded on his father who pushed off from the crates.

“That’s not it… You talk so rarely, Tam. It’s hard to get a read on you sometimes.”

“Were the words ‘I have no interest in Alina’ not enough?”

Fin held up his hands in surrender. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disregard you.”

Shaking his head, Tam’s eyes moved toward the gangplank of the ship where Eli was already making her way up to board.

“I think you’re right, Da. I do need this trip. I’m not liking who I’m becoming the longer I’m here, and I think it’s doing more harm than good all around.”

Fin paused, watching his son’s face. He had the same high cheekbones, the same eye shape as himself… Tam was a handsome man, but no one had really been able to tell as he had always hid behind his hair. Seeing his bare face, the house witch could see clearly then just how much Tam was struggling to come into his own.

His heart twisted, and so Fin reached out and lay a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I wish nothing but the best for you, Tam. I love you more than you’ll ever know, and if you find where you belong is far away from your family…? I understand. But please remember how loved you are, and that we are always here for you.”

Tam stilled and when he looked into his father’s clear blue eyes again, he found that he was able to let go of his agitation as he realized that, judging from the shouts from the captain aboard the ship, he was about to depart, and he didn’t want to leave his father on such a bad note.

“I love you, too, Da. Thank you.”

The two men embraced, and when they pulled apart, Tam even managed to give a half smile to his father. As he stepped toward the gangplank, however, Fin turned suddenly with a finger raised.

“Ah… One last thing… If you happen to fall in love with someone and want to get married… Mind making sure your mother and I can attend? I didn’t know I’d have to make the request, but after your sister-”

At the mention of his sister’s scandalous marriage seven years ago while in a foreign land to their future king, Tam at last laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll only invite you, mum, and my nephews. Kat never even apologized about me not being able to attend her own nuptials!”

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Fin grinned at the jest and nodded. “Right. Well… Go say goodbye to your mum, and stay safe. No matter what is going on, remember you can always find your way home.”

Tam paused, then smiled again and waved over his shoulder to head over and bid farewell to his mother.

*

With the ship clear of the harbor, and sailing south toward Zinfera, Fin let out a long breath and turned to look down at his wife in the golden glow of the setting sun.

Annika Ashowan was staring after the ship wearing a knowing smile.

“Do you think he figured it out?” the house witch wondered while slipping his hands into his pockets.

“If he hasn’t I’m going to have to retrain him all over again, but I’m confident he knows. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been hiding my glasses from me since Eli started working for him.”

Fin grinned. “Tam really did a bang up job hiding her. I don’t think Harris caught a glimpse of her even once!”

“That may have been more Eli’s doing than Tam’s. I had to warn her in great detail about Lord Harris and his wife…” Annika remarked with a shake of her head as she thought about their chaotic friends.

“How long until Eli stops pretending she’s a man do you think?” Fin wondered as the couple turned and took their time striding back to their carriage.

“Not long. We were polite about it, and His Majesty Prince Eric has been too busy to properly consider that she isn’t a young man, but once they start traveling more people will notice.”

“Did His Majesty King Brendan Devark have any other information about Eli that he was willing to share?”

Annika shook her head. “The Troivackian king thinks quite highly of Eli, so he didn’t reveal anything. Though he conceded she was a woman when I pointed out how obvious it was.”

Fin bobbed his head as he listened. “And you think she and Tam are going to fall in love?”

Annika froze in her tracks and stared up at her husband wide eyed.

“I’d like to think I’ve learned a thing or two about the way you work, love,” Fin’s smile was slow and teasing when he noted his wife’s surprise at his guess. “You brought up marriage to Tam. Put it in his head… You even got those lords to pester him about marrying their daughters to really make it prevalent. Then you put a woman who is as secretive as him, if not even more so, by his side. You think they’re a good match because of their similar natures.”

Annika folded her arms and tilted her chin up at her husband. “And what if I said I just thought he could use a good assistant and friend?”

Fin bent down so that his nose was a mere inch from his wife’s. “You want granddaughters. I’m not buying it.”

Unable to stop the blush in her cheeks that Fin was bringing to her face despite nearly three decades of marriage, she did the only thing she could think to do to stop his tormenting her…

She kissed him. And the duke was all too happy to go along with his wife changing the direction of their conversation.

***

Back in Austice, the king and queen of Daxaria and the king and queen of Troivack shared a quiet evening together. Catching up and reminiscing over cups of moonshine and wine, there was a bite to the evening air that gave the women an ideal reason to cozy up to their husbands.

“Tam’s left by now then?” Alina asked thoughtfully, her cheeks rosy from warmth and drink as she rested her head on Brendan Devark’s left shoulder.

“Probably,” Kat responded lightly while stretching out her legs to rest them on the low table between the sofas. “He’ll send a letter when he arrives in Zinfera, and then we should only receive news once a month or so.”

Alina twisted her mouth, her hazel eyes falling to the cup in her hand.

“I hope our boys haven't scared your two sons,” Eric added with an apologetic grimace toward his sister.

Brendan took in a very long, slow breath as he stared at the Daxarian king bluntly. “Your children are terrors. I would keep them separated until they are better behaved.”

Both Kat and Eric stilled and gradually righted themselves. “Our boys are good hearted, and they are still young. It’s important to have fun as children. In fact, it’s the most important thing that they do. It’s why we work to keep the kingdom safe. So that children don’t have to carry the weight of the world,” Eric returned with an edge in his voice.

“There is a line between having a fun childhood and setting people on fire,” Alina pointed out as she too lifted herself from her husband’s shoulder in seriousness.

“And we punished them for taking it that far,” Kat interjected, her golden eyes glimmering. “I didn’t become disciplined until I was in my twenties, and things worked out. Now, we wanted a nice evening together as you both will be heading back to Troivack, so I suggest we don’t talk about our children.”

Brendan bowed his head in assent, as did Alina.

It was true, throughout the years there had been many fights about their different parenting styles, and so they had learned at the end of the day that it was best to step away when emotions were getting a mite too heated.

“Do you really think there is a dragon in Zinfera?” Alina changed the topic smoothly, though the relaxed atmosphere did not return to the room as the terrifying idea of an ancient beast settled over them.

“Gods, if there is? It’ll feel like the whole issue with the first witch and the devil is starting again…” Kat scoffed before taking a drink from her cup.

“To be honest… With Tam leaving for such a long time it made me think how similar it was to when you and I left for Troivack,” Eric started to say carefully.

Alina’s eyes snapped to her brother. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Kat winced. “No! Don’t say that! Tam travels all the time for the dukedom, this doesn’t have to be like that at all! I’m sure everything is-”

A knock on the door cut off the Daxarian queen’s last words.

“Come in,” Eric called out, a frown already riddling his brow as they all considered the late hour.

Mr. Kevin Howard burst in, with Morgan, the new king’s assistant at his side. “Your Majesties, we just received a missive from Troivack.”

Brendan and Alina were on their feet in an instant, while Kat and Eric joined them.

Mr. Howard swallowed as he stepped into the room and Morgan closed the door behind them. The man’s face was pale, and his voice warbled as his hand clutched the missive. “It’s the first witch… She’s escaped.”

Silence filled the room, until Katarina broke it by bursting out. “Godsdamnit!”

While the Troivackian king and queen still hadn’t spoken, they too shared a very similar sentiment to the more outspoken Daxarian queen.

It seemed the first witch wasn’t through causing problems for them just yet.